ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y., Aug. 1, 2017 — St. Bonaventure University has once again been named one of “The Best 382 Colleges” in the nation by The Princeton Review, and for the first time was recognized for how well students from different backgrounds get along.

St. Bonaventure was one of only two institutions in the eight Western New York counties to make the “Best 382” list. (Alfred University was the other.)

St. Bonaventure was No. 12 on the “Lots of Race/Class Interaction” list, which examined how easily and frequently different types of students interacted.

“I think that’s a credit to how proactive our Student Affairs division, in concert with our Damietta Center for Multicultural Affairs, has been in regularly scheduling activities and discussions on issues that are often hard to talk about,” said Tom Missel, interim vice president for University Relations. “Like all schools, we still have a ways to go, but it’s gratifying to see us headed in the right direction.”

In revamping its general education curriculum, St. Bonaventure now requires freshmen to take a one-credit course examining issues of diversity in a contemporary context. The course allows students to engage in better-informed dialogue about current events and engage more actively as citizens of the modern world.

Once again, St. Bonaventure’s campus radio station, WSBU-FM, was ranked among the top 10 college radio stations, hitting No. 1 for the third time in the survey’s history. The station has been ranked in the top 10 for almost 20 years.

Only about 15 percent of the nation’s 2,500 four-year colleges are profiled in the college guide, which was released today.

“We chose these schools because they all offer outstanding academics,” said Robert Franek, Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief and author of the annual college guide, now in its 26^th year.

“Our selections are primarily based on our surveys of administrators at several hundred four-year colleges. We also visit dozens of colleges each year and give considerable weight to opinions of our staff and our 24-member National College Counselor Advisory Board,” Franek said.

St. Bonaventure students told The Princeton Review that SBU had excellent career placement rates and that its small size provided each student with “the opportunity to tutor, teach, do research and lead during their undergraduate years.”

Students also praised the university’s faculty, who come equipped with real-world experience and spark students’ interest in a variety of academic disciplines. “Every single teacher goes out of their way to help students in any way they can,” students said.

St. Bonaventure students also lauded the close-knit campus culture, where students “look out for each other both during and after our collegiate careers.”

The guide includes detailed profiles of the colleges with rating scores for all schools in eight categories, plus ranking lists of top 20 schools in the book in 62 categories based on The Princeton Review’s surveys.

The Princeton Review is an education services company known for its test-prep courses, tutoring, books, and other student resources. Headquartered in Natick, Mass., the company is not affiliated with Princeton University.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure cultivates graduates who are confident and creative communicators, collaborative leaders and team members, and innovative problem solvers who are respectful of themselves, others, and the diverse world around them. Named the #6 best college value in the North by U.S. News and World Report, we are establishing pathways to internships, graduate schools and careers in the context of our renowned liberal arts tradition.